Amusement device



Oct. 12, 1926;;

1 03,254 W. F. MANGELS AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed Nov. 6, 1925 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 wl TuEssEs I 4 m'M/% lNVE NTOR mlliaiqfflanyg ATTORNEYS Oct. 12

w. F. MANGELS 3 Sheets-Shee t 2 AMUSEMENT miywa Filed Nov. 6, 1925 12/ I v wlliavi/F M VII WITNESSES ATTORNEYS Patented 'Oct,- 12, 1926 uNiifrlss wrrrrAMrnEnEnieK narrates, oFBii-ooKLYN, mw yoax.

, AMUSEMENT nnvrcn.

' p Application filed November 6, 1925. serialxNo. 67,344."

i: This invention relates to' amusement apparatus, an object of the invention being, to;

provide aroller coaster over which a'train of cars is adapted to move, said train being drawn by an electric motor car, and iniproved means fortransmi-tting electric current to the motor car and dispensing with the-employment of a third rail, trolley or other electricvconductor which might berasource of -danger to the passengers andto the observers;

A furtherflobject is to provide aroller coasterof this character Which is especially designed for children and Will in all probability' be of miniature vform. Of course the invention is not limited to. the "Sizesand proportions. asthe invention is adapted for use in connection with ears or trains iof-iany size. a v 1A furtherzobject is to providemnamuser-nent device of 'thisch-aracter having acontinuous track of general elliptical form, that is to say, withcurved ends and parallels'ides, theside" portionsbeing in the natureof a roller: coaster sothat Jaj train" inits, passage 5 over the. ltrack is caused to move; upwardly "and. downwardly. cover any desired grades.

Afurther'object is to provide: an amusement apparatus of. this character which is alwaysiunder thecontrol of an operator so thatipo wer may be" transmittedor cut-elf and the train stopped by a suitable braking means at the entrancelandexit-station; 1 A1 further object-istopmvide anapparatus of this character" which "will be ex-' trernely: ornamental and" attractive "and which will afford amusement and. pleasure to spectators as well as to passengers.

With these and other'objects invi'ew, the

invention consists 'ince rtain' novel-features of construction and combinations "andarrangeznents' of parts which will-be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the of; H p f 'Figurej3- is'a view, mainly in section iout, partly in selevat on',-of my improved means claims a c, J In the accompanying drawings e, r Fi-gure 1 is topplaniviewpf my improved apparatus; 1 Figure 2 is a View in side elevation therewhereby electric current is transmitted to the-motorcary I j Figure 4 is a view, in transverse section through the tr-ack,-illustrating the operation ofthe brake; e, a i' "Figurej5 is' 'a fragmentary detail, view "showing the operating'le'ver and-its connect-t ingpartsrfor controlling the brake;v I V Figure 6 is a View in section, onthe'linejeo Of'Figulfil;

Figure 7 is a viewin side elevation of one off'the passenger cars ofthe train; J

: Figure 8 is a motor car; e e e ,4

Figure 9 is a sectional planvieW taken on t1-1e1inee-9 of Figure 8. i 1' represents a supporting viewfinside elevation of the.-

' f m wo k which maybe made in any suitable manner i V andywhich provides pair of rails2, 2' to to hold the train againstll teral displace if prevented from upward movement and main s tain the cars against-the -,pos sibili tyoftilt} '1 111g action asvvell a's lateralgmovement. other words, .by providing several rails :the

cars are securely held-relative to the frame" work and cannot escape frorntheir'dejsi'gned f pathjof movement. 7 e ,7 The passeng er cars 'lfa-re supported on caster wheels 7 which run on the rails 2,a nd each car, has on; its under face a brake band Sjwhich is adapted toibe engaged by a brake bar-9ft) stop the' train, at a platform 10.

This platform 10 may be of any desired size and ornamented in any desired. manner. The brake bar 9 is guided in ach'annel :bar l1, both barsconforming' in 'curvatureto the curvature of the track; and lying preferably midway between the rails 2. h

[Thisfg'uide 11 has. thereinj a Wedge-shaped I m'emb er-., or, members 12 so: that when the brake bar 9.;is moved longitudinally in one direction sai d barwill lie-elevated so that ,1

it will engage the 1br-ak-ebands 8 and stop the car, VVhen the bar 9 is -move'din the opposite direction it" will lower out ot the pathof the-,brakewband-EB. f 1 Tofioperate 'thisgbar 9-1 provide aierank shaft l3gmountedin suitable supports 1i and; having its crank arm 15 pivotally;c onnectedaby a pinor:bolt 16 with oneend 0f the bar Ajhandleulever17 is-secured 11 0 to the shaftyls and thefoperator is posiftioned [so thatr heina'y 'm anipulate this lever 17 and also control a circuit'closing device 18 for a purpose which will more fully hereinafter appear.

Themotor car 3 above referred to is provided 'with three caster wheels 7 and 19 is of any desired diameter and constructed in any desired manner and is secured to a shaft 20 carried by the car 3. This shaft20 has a gear wheel 21 thereon which is connected by a gear train 22 with the drive shaft 23 of an electric motor 24, and it is to be distinctly understood that I may employ any suitable gear train or any power transmitting mechanism between the motor and the shaft 20 so as to drive the car at the desired speed.

v The motor car 3 ispreferably provided with an upwardly projecting hollow post 25 through which electric wires 26 and 27 extend, the lower ends of these wires being con nected tothe motor 24, as illustrated. These wires 26 and 27 are preferably enclosed in an insulating covering so that they form a single cord or cable 28 which projects througha tubular arm 29, constituting a portion of an improved mechanism located centrally of the-apparatus, which will now be described in detail. r

30 represents a tubular post rigidlysecured at its base portion 31 and supporting any 'desired chandelier or lamp, carrying arms 32 adjacent its upper end'to give an ornamental and attractive appearance as well as to illuminate the apparatus at night.

33 represents a tubularvertically disposed member which projects into the tubular post 30 and hasrotarymounting therein. A disk 34 is fixed to this member 33 and a friction ring 35 is-interposed between said disk 34 and a supporting disk 36 fixed to the post 30. This friction ring 35 prevents any possibility of the momentum of the parts caus ing the member 30 to revolve of its own momentum.

The arm 29 above referred to is secured to and constitutes a part of the rotary member 33 and a counter-balancing arm 37 is also secured to member 33 with an ornamental dome member 38 at the top of said member 33 although of course these ornamental features may be varied at will.

A. ring- 39 of insulating material is secured around the member 33 and supports a pair of electric contact rings 40 and 41, respectively, which are spaced apart and insulated from each other.- 7

The cable 28 with the wires 26 and 27 therein extends through the arm 29 into the 'member 34, and the wire-27 is electrically connected to'the ring 40 while the wire 26 is electrically connected to the ring 41.

A pair of brushes 42 supported in a bracket 43 on post 30 engages the rings 40 and 41,'respect ively, and have lead wires. 44

and 45 communicating with any desired source of electricity so that electric current V is closed through said switches to the motor when the circuit is closed by the manually operated device 18 above referred to.

a friction drive Wheel 19. This drive wheel The operation is as follows:

Assuming the train to be at the platform 10, the passengers enter the cars 4 while the train is being held'against movement by the brakebar 9. The operator then through the medium of the lever 17 lowers the brake bar 9 and at the same time closes the circuit through the manually operated circuit clos-' ing means 18. When the circuit is closed it may be traced as followsfrom the lead wires 44 and 45, through brushes 42, rings 40 and 41, and through wires26 and 27 to the motor 24 on the'motor car This motor can immediately transmits motion to the wheel 19 which by its traction on one of the tracks 2 causes the train to move over the rails. As the train moves, the flexible cable enclosing the wires 26 and 27 will be caused to move and impart a turning movement to the arm 29 and the rotary member 33, and regardless of the speed of the train the momentum of the rotary member will be checked by the friction disk35 so that there will be no' danger of entanglement .of the 1cjable or sudden jerking. of the rotary memer. It will thus be noted that Iiprovide an amusement device in which an electric motor 'car is employed to draw a train of cars and supply electric current tofsaid motor car without having any portion of any electric conductor exposed to contact by the'passengers ofthe car or by those observing the operation of the apparatus. Hence the pos- 'sibility of electric shock is entirelyeliminated. p l -1 By providing an apparatus such as above described, the entire operation of the train can be observed,v which is desirable. when parents have entrusted their children to the cars, and, furthermore, the operation affords entertainment to the riders as well as to the observers.

Various slight changes and alterations might be, made in the general form of the parts described without departing from the spirit of my invention and'hence I donot limit myself to the precise details set forth but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes andalterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. w v f I claim:

' 1. An amusement apparatus, including a endless track of general elliptical shape, a rotary member located'within the confinesof the track, an electric motor car .onthetrack,

an arm connected to the rotary member,'elec trio conductors supported by vthe arm and operatively connected to the .motor car whereby movement of the motor car imparts 1 turning movement to the rotary device.

car on the track, a tubular post'located Within the confines of the track, a rotary member mounted on the post, a friction device retarding the rotary motion of said member, electric conductors supported by the rotary member, and a counterbalanced tubular arm projecting at an angle to said member and through which said electric conductors are projected and'operatively connected to the motor car.

3. An apparatus of the characterfdescribed, including anendless track, a motor car on the track, a tubular post located With in the confines of the track, a rotary member, mounted on the post, afriction device retarding the rotary motion of said member, electric conductors supported by the rotary member, a counterbalanced tubular arm projecting atan angle to said member and through which saidfelectric conductors are projected and operatively connected to the motor .car, lighting fixtures supported and manually controlled means for control- :ling the circuit to the motor and the operation of the brake.

v by the post, a brake adapted to, stopthe car, 

